Clovis dominates at home in the Doc Buchanan Invitational
No. 4 Clovis, Calif. was not a gracious host to put things mildly this past weekend. Even with not being in their "one-hundred percent" lineup (i.e. the one likely to be seen in the state series), the Cougars looked locked in with respect to their form. Three starting wrestlers, and one designated non-scorer, won weight class titles, with another pair each taking second and third respectively. In all, 11 of 13 starting wrestlers (there was no 126 entered) placed, with the two that failed to place falling just one match short.
Winning weight class titles for Clovis were No. 2 Justin Mejia (113), Seth Nevills (220), and Hexton Coronado (285). Mejia's tournament was highlighted by a 4-2 semifinal win over No. 10 Ian Timmins (Wooster, Nev.); the freshman Seth duplicated the feat of his older brother Nick from four years ago by winning a Doc Buchanan title; while Coronado was not even a starter last year, after making state as a sophomore the year before, due to the logjam of upper-weight talent at Clovis.
The Cougars added runner-up finishes from Josh Hokit (170) and A.J. Nevills (182), who each were upended by the Valencia brothers from St. John Bosco, Calif. in their championship matches; No. 2 Anthony beat Hokit by 11-6 decision, while Nevills lost by a pin to No. 1 Zahid at the 2:17 mark. Third place finishes came from Dominic Kincaid (160) and A.J. Prentice (195); Brandon Martino (132) came in fourth; three-time state placer Isaiah Hokit (138) finished sixth, defaulting his last two matches after a semifinal loss; while Wyatt Cornelison (106) and Jared Hill (152) finished eight. The additional Clovis competitor to win his weight class was Khristian Olivas (138), a 2013 state placer, who is likely dropping to 132 by season's end.
An additional pair of nationally elite teams occupied the next two spots in the standings. No. 11 Bergen Catholic, N.J. placed nine wrestlers in the tournament, scoring 169-1/2 points despite the absence of returning state placer Joe Grello (170); while No. 6 Buchanan, Calif. placed eight in scoring 154 points despite the absence of multi-time state qualifier Kyler Hansen (145) and state placer Abner Romero (160).
The lone weight class title for those two teams came from No. 2 Nick Suriano at 120 pounds for Bergen Catholic, N.J. Junior sensation Suriano continued his undefeated to date career with two pins, two major decisions (8-0 and 11-2), and a 15-0 technical fall. No other Crusaders wrestler made the championship bout, but another pair -- Peter Lipari (126) and Kevin Mulligan (182) -- took third; Lauren Angelhina (138) finished in fourth; Carmen Ferrante (106), Brady Ford (145), and Connor O'Brien (220) finished fifth; Evan Quinn (113) took seventh; while Danny DeLorenzi (195) took eighth.
Despite zero champions, Buchanan did have three finalists in tournament runners-up No. 19 Durbin Lloren (126), Greg Gaxiola (138), and Kai Dill (220). Additional placers included Cade Belshay (170) taking third, Connor Francis (152) earning fifth, Anthony Montalvo (160) finishing sixth, along with Ethan Leake (106) and Young Woo An (195) taking home seventh.
Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 1 Cade Olivas (St. John Bosco, Calif.) at 106 pounds; No. 2 Israel Saavedra (Modesto, Calif.) at 126; Jaden Enriquez (Mission Oak, Calif.) at 132; McCoy Kent (Enochs, Calif.) at 145, whose title run included a pair of 3-2 wins over nationally ranked wrestlers; Layne van Anrooy (Roseburg, Ore.) at 152; Zackary Velasquez (Ponderosa, Calif.) at 160; and Austin Flores (Clovis North, Calif.) at 195.
Clovis takes field trip to Illinois this weekend
To follow up on that tournament title at the Doc Buchanan, arguably the toughest in-season tournament in the western third of the United States, the No. 4-ranked Cougars travel to Illinois for four dual meets against nationally ranked opponents. On Friday night, Clovis will take on No. 19 Montini Catholic and No. 31 Marmion Academy as part of a quad meet; while on Saturday, they will take on No. 1 Oak Park River Forest and No. 21 Carl Sandburg during a multi-team dual meet event. A full analysis of those matchups will be featured tomorrow on InterMat.
Blair Academy follows up Graham upset victory with statement at the Geary Invitational
No. 3 Blair Academy, N.J. followed up the 27-24 upset victory over now No. 2 (formerly No. 1) St. Paris Graham, Ohio with a weekend trip to Oklahoma for the nation's oldest in-season wrestling tournament, the Geary Invitational. It's seventy-plus year old tradition with many unique features, including its format -- there are no seeds, which means it is 100% a "blind draw"; there are matches for true second place (however, the true second place match results were not reported anywhere for reporting purposes); along with the team scoring only consists of placement and bonus/activity points, no points for advancement.
Three other nationally ranked teams joined Blair Academy in the event: No. 10 Broken Arrow, No. 14 Stillwater, and No. 26 Tuttle. Even absent a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in Charles Tucker (no lineup replacement at 132) and Brandon Dallavia (Bearse went down to 160, and Stillerman came in at 170), the Buccaneers still dominated the event. They won the title placing 11 of the 12 wrestlers they entered (no 132 or 285) to score a tournament-record 200 points.
Winning weight class titles for Blair Academy were No. 16 Zach Sherman (113), No. 2 Matthew Kolodzik (138), No. 3 Jordan Kutler (152), No. 14 Chase Singletary (182), and No. 11 David Showunmi (220). Five other wrestlers finished either second or third -- Requir van der Merwe (120), Andrew Monohan (126), Michael Monica (145), Peter Bearse (160), and Neil Putnam (195); rounding out the placement finishers was Jimmy Stillerman, fourth at 170.
Second place in the standings with ten placers was Broken Arrow, which scored 159-1/2 points. The Tigers were led by a pair of weight class champions, No. 5 Markus Simmons (126) and Steven Allen (195). Five other wrestlers finished either second or third -- No. 3 Davion Jeffries (132), Paden Bailey (152), Isaiah Page (170), Skylar Haynes (182), and Trenton Lieurance (285). Rounding out the medalists were a pair of fourth place finishes from Tyler Lawley (106) and Caleb Wise (132), along with a sixth place finish from Christian Kaser (160).
Finishing a relatively distant third with 115 points was Stillwater, who had three champions but just six placers in all. The Pioneers were led by the titles earned by No. 2 Kaid Brock (132), No. 7 Tristan Moran (145), and No. 4 Joe Smith (160). Finishing within the top three were Tyler Dieringer (182) and Cyntrell Citizen (220), while Jacob Fontanez (126) placed fourth.
Rounding out the weight class champions were Mason Naifeh (Tulsa Union) at 106 pounds, No. 19 Montorie Bridges (Altus) at 120, Hayden Hansen (Norman North) at 170, and Korey Walker (Midwest City) at 285. A highlight match of the tournament came in the semifinal round at 138 pounds when Kolodzik upending Jeffries 3-2 to avenge an overtime loss that occurred in the finals at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman.
Blair gauntlet continues with Saturday dual against Bergen Catholic
No. 3 Blair Academy and No. 11 Bergen Catholic are among the eight teams that will convene at the College Avenue Gym on the campus of Rutgers University this Saturday for the Garden State Duals. Wrestling will occur in rounds starting at 9 a.m. ET, 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. No. 35 St. Peter's Prep, N.J. is in the event but will not meet either of the other two nationally ranked teams; the Marauders wrestled Blair Academy in late December, and could see Bergen Catholic in the state dual meet series.
The following is a list of projected matches for the dual meet between Blair Academy and Bergen Catholic that is projected to take place Saturday at 3 p.m. Keep in mind, there are a couple of different "flex" options for Blair Academy to cover the fact they have no rostered 285 pound wrestler.
106: Matthew Vinci (Blair) vs. Carmen Ferrante (Bergen C.) -- the freshman Ferrante placed seventh at the Beast of the East, while Vinci went 1-2
113: No. 16 Zach Sherman vs. Evan Quinn -- Sherman placed fourth at the Beast of the East, while Quinn went 1-2
120: Requir van der Merwe vs. No. 2 Nick Suriano -- this is a battle of Beast of the East placers, Suriano a three-time champion in the event, van der Merwe placing fifth this year
126: Andrew Monohan vs. Peter Lipari -- neither wrestler placed at the Beast, Monohan was two from placing, and Lipari one from placing; Lipari though is a two-time state placer and was a Junior National freestyle All-American this summer
132: No. 7 Chaz Tucker vs. Shane Griffith -- Tucker missed the Beast of the East, but was a Junior National freestyle runner-up this summer; the freshman Griffith placed sixth at the Beast
138: No. 2 Matthew Kolodzik vs. Lauren Angelhina -- this is another battle of Beast of the East placers, Kolodzik winning this weight class, Angelhina placed seventh
145: Michael Monica vs. Brady Ford -- Monica placed sixth at the Beast of the East, while Ford went 1-2
152: No. 3 Jordan Kutler vs. Jared Rolon -- Kutler won a title at the Beast of the East, while Rolon went 0-2
160: No. 5 Brandon Dallavia vs. Daniel Brennan -- Dallavia did not compete at the Beast of the East, but was a Cadet National freestyle champion, while Brennan went 1-2
170: Peter Bearse vs. Joe Grello -- Bearse placed eighth at the Beast of the East down in the 160 pound weight class; returning state placer Grello missed out on the Beast recovering from injury, but was a Cadet freestyle All-American
182: Jimmy Stillerman vs. Kevin Mulligan -- the projection from this corner is that Blair "flexes" here to move up their 182-220 wrestlers to 195-285. Stillerman is a reserve wrestler, while Mulligan is a returning state placer and Junior freestyle All-American; at the Beast, Mulligan placed fourth, including a 2-0 loss to Singletary in the tiebreaker
195: No. 14 (at 182) Chase Singletary vs. Danny DeLorenzi -- as previously mentioned, Singletary placed third at the Beast of the East down at 182; while DeLorenzi missed the Beast of the East, but is a returning state qualifier
220: Neil Putnam vs. Connor O'Brien -- Putnam placed sixth at the Beast of the East down at 195 pounds, while O'Brien was one match from placing in this weight class
285: No. 11 (at 220) David Showunmi vs. Joe Caggiano -- Showunmi finished third at the Beast of the East down at 220 pounds, while Caggiano was two matches from placing in this weight class
Ohio's perennial power dual on Saturday: St. Edward at St. Paris Graham
In something that has become one of the recent staple events of the wrestling season in the Buckeye State, perennial state championship teams St. Edward and St. Paris Graham will battle it out in a dual meet. St. Edward failed to win state last year, but before then had won titles three consecutive times, 16 of the previous 17, and 28 in all; St. Paris Graham won state last year for the 14th straight time, and 16th in all. The visiting Eagles are currently ranked No. 16 in the nation and come off of four dual meet victories over top eight teams in Michigan this past weekend; while the Falcons are ranked No. 2 nationally.
Wrestling will start at 7 p.m. (ET) on Saturday night at St. Paris Graham, and here are the projected lineups, along with some overview.
106: Matt Kazimir (St. Edward) vs. Justin Stickley (St. Paris Graham) -- returning state placer Stickley placed fifth at the Walsh Ironman, while the freshman Kazimir missed placement at the Ironman by a single match
113: Allan Hart vs. No. 8 Mitch Moore -- this is a battle of Walsh Ironman placers, the freshman Moore won the title, while Hart placed fifth; Moore also placed fifth at the preseason Super 32 Challenge, while Hart was two matches from placing
120: Mason Daugherty/Cade Hepner vs. No. 15 Eli Stickley -- returning state champion Stickley was runner-up at the Walsh Ironman, while Hepner went two-and-out; at some point this season, the junior Daugherty will make the drop to this weight class. That said, neither wrestler can truly beat Stickley, though Daugherty is more likely to keep it nominally competitive.
126: L.J. Bentley vs. No. 14 Eli Seipel -- both wrestlers in this match have committed to be part of the Pitt 2015 recruiting class. Seipel won the Walsh Ironman title, while Bentley was one match from placing; Seipel is a three-time state placer, 2013 state champion, while Bentley placed fourth at state last year. The story of Bentley's season has been "close but no cigar" against almost all his higher-end opponents.
132: No. 20 Hunter Ladnier vs. No. 12 Rocky Jordan -- Ladnier placed fourth at the Walsh Ironman, while the freshman Jordan placed second; Jordan upended Ladnier by 8-3 decision in the second round of the tournament
138: Isaac Collier vs. Ryan Thomas -- Neither wrestler placed at the Walsh Ironman, Thomas went 2-2 while Collier was 1-2. Thomas is one of the nation's best overall freshmen, while the junior Collier was a state alternate last year
145: Jack Conway vs. Brent Moore -- The junior Conway missed out on the Walsh Ironman, but was not truly close to state qualification last year; while the junior Moore placed fourth at the Ironman, and is a returning state runner-up
152: Mike Carpenter vs. No. 14 Kyle Lawson -- The sophomore Carpenter went two-and-out at the Walsh Ironman in the 160 pound weight class, while fellow sophomore Lawson placed seventh in this weight class after winning a state title last season
160: D.J. Williamson vs. No. 1 Alex Marinelli -- Williamson made his varsity-level season debut last weekend after returning from injury, while the junior Marinelli is already a two-time state champion and won the Walsh Ironman in this weight classs
170: Jared Leidich vs. Garrett Jordan -- The junior Leidich went two-and-out at the Walsh Ironman, while fellow junior Jordan placed sixth in this weight
182: Tyler Stepic vs. Hayden Bronne -- The sophomore Stepic went 2-2 at the Walsh Ironman, while the senior Bronne (who qualified for state last year) went 0-2.
195: Jared Campbell vs. Kanan Sarver -- Both wrestlers in this match are sophomores, Sarver went 1-2 at the Walsh Ironman, including a 9-4 loss to Campbell in consolation; Campbell went 2-2.
220: Parker Knapp vs. Josh Couchman -- Both wrestlers in this match placed sixth at state last year, Couchman made his season debut in the Blair dual, where he suffered a hefty loss to Putnam; while Knapp placed third at the Walsh Ironman.
285: Dylan Nave vs. Mike O'Malley -- Nave went 1-2 at the Walsh Ironman, while the junior O'Malley missed out on the tournament, as he was making key contributions on the defensive line of a state championship football team the Saturday before
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